You are here

NCAA approves autonomy for ACC

The Atlantic Coast Conference and four other conferences will have more control in how they run their athletic programs after an historic vote by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Thursday.

A preliminary proposal for a new governance model for the ACC, Southeastern Conference, Big 12, Big Ten and Pacific-12 was approved by the board in Indianapolis.

The 16-2 vote is the first step in a new era of college athletics and for the so-called “Power 5” conferences.

“Today’s vote marks a significant step into a brighter future for Division I athletics,” Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch, board chair, said, according to NCAA.com.

“We hope this decision not only will allow us to focus more intently on the well-being of our student-athletes but also preserve the tradition of Division I as a diverse and inclusive group of schools competing together on college athletics’ biggest stage.”

The amateur model has been recently challenged by a high-profile lawsuit from former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon and the potential unionization of college athletes in a labor-board suit won by athletes at Northwestern.

Only the governance model was voted on Thursday but the “Power 5” plans to move quickly on setting up new benefits for scholarship athletes.

Among the main changes expected to come about with the new model is paying scholarship athletes the “full cost of attendance.”

Depending on the school, the range of the annual stipend could be between $2,000 and $6,000. The SEC has already begun working on a proposal which would make all scholarship athletes, in every sport, eligible for the full-cost benefits.

How the system will work, and whether it will only include football and men’s basketball players, has yet to be determined.

Four-year scholarships, instead of the current practice of renewing scholarships on an annual basis, is also expected to be one of the first changes adopted by the “Power 5” conferences.

There are 65 teams in the five conferences, including 15 in the ACC.

The proposed governance redesign legislation is subject to a 60-day override period as specified in the current legislative process. For the board to reconsider the change, at least 75 schools must request an override. Generally, reconsideration occurs at the next scheduled board meeting, set for Oct. 30.

A council with 80 – one representative from each school and three athletes from each conference – will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the legislative process.

While the “Power 5” schools are prepared to take advantage of the new autonomy, the other schools left out of the power structure, including East Carolina and Appalachian State, now find themselves at a potential competitive and financial disadvantage.

The threat of the Power 5 leaving the NCAA umbrella altogether was such that the need for this new model was a reality, Hatch said earlier this week.

The Power 5 conferences will remain in Division I and the revenue-sharing programs in place, notably for the television contract for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, will not be affected by the changes.

The established scholarship limits in all sports will remain the same as well.

“The new governance model represents a compromise on all sides that will better serve our members and, most importantly, our student-athletes,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said on NCAA.com.

“These changes will help all our schools better support the young people who come to college to play sports while earning a degree.”